19 Facts About Blindness That You Haven't Heard Before

If your eyes are healthy, chances are that your overall health is also good.

A good diet rich in vegetables and fruits can help maintain healthy vision into old age. There are many facts about blindness and visually impaired people in many countries the government supports in many different ways, such as with guide dogs.

Completely blind people do not have a sense of sight because they are born blind or suffered from some disease that makes them blind, such as Helen Keller. She was not born blind but suffered from an illness that caused her to become blind.

There are false statements about blindness that revolve around how crying in the dark causes blindness, but this is not true.

Generally, blind people are accompanied by a guide dog or a white cane. They cannot see the color black.

Color blindness's most common cause is a problem with the cells that detect color (cones) in the eye. There are three types of these cones, each with a different role: red, green, and blue.

Night blindness is a condition in which you cannot see well in dim lighting or can't see at all, although your vision may be normal during the day.

Types Of Blindness

Blindness is a total or partial lack of vision. The term 'blindness' usually refers to a permanent lack of vision, but some people lose their vision temporarily due to an injury or accident.

A condition called color blindness affects those who can't distinguish between specific colors, such as red and green.

In the United States alone, it's estimated that almost 10 million people are blind or visually impaired.

Many other diseases and conditions cause blindness and visual impairment, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and corneal scarring.

Many diseases that affect the visually impaired can be present without symptoms early on.

Some signs that you may be losing vision or eyesight include blurry or cloudy vision, halos around lights, and faded colors or poor night vision.

A few other symptoms include increased nearsightedness (myopia), sensitivity to light from bright headlights at night, and small or blank spots in your peripheral vision.

Some people are at higher risk for certain eye diseases than others, including older adults and people who have diabetes.

People with a family history of certain conditions may also be more likely to get them.

Guide dogs are often seen with blind people to overcome their fear of being blind or crossing roads.

Some medicines can increase your risk, too.

Reasons For Blindness

The facts about blindness and vision impairment might shock you, but there are millions of people across the world who are blind. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 80% of blindness or vision impairment could be prevented by addressing key risk factors, including cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors, and age-related macular degeneration.

Of the latter three types of conditions, all are related to the eye's retina, an extraordinarily delicate but important part of the human body that can become damaged through prolonged exposure to UV rays.

Some people are born blind, while some become visually impaired later in life.

Preventing damage before it happens by implementing simple measures such as wearing sunglasses or protective eyewear will go a long way in ensuring a vision for a happier, healthier, and longer life.

Born-blind people have their own way of living life.

Many are helped by guide dogs, which help blind people in many ways.

The human retina is a tissue that lines the back of the eye and detects light entering the eye. It then sends signals to the brain, which it interprets as vision senses or sight. The retina has cells called rods and cones, both of which contain photoreceptor proteins that absorb photons (light particles).

Rods work in low-light conditions (night vision), while cones give us color perception and work in brighter light situations (daytime).

In addition to rods and cones, other important non-photoreceptive cells have been identified, including bipolar cells, ganglion cells, horizontal cells, amacrine cells, and Müller glial cells.

All of these cells are susceptible to damage from light, which can lead to irreversible blindness if left untreated.

As previously stated, retinal damage due to exposure to UV rays is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and people suffer permanent loss of sight due to this condition each year alone.

The condition occurs when photons penetrate the transparent front part of the eye (cornea) and strike the retina, causing chemical reactions in photoreceptor cells that can ultimately destroy vision or eye sense.

These reactions cause sunburn in humans, which is why it's so vital for us to protect our eyes when exposed to harmful radiation such as sunlight when outdoors.

This protection becomes even more important when we consider that sunlight contains UVB (shorter wavelength) and UVA (longer wavelength) rays, both of which cause damage to the retina.

UV rays penetrate clouds and even car windows, so it's not enough to wear sunglasses when outside. We all need to wear protective eyewear, just as we do with sunscreen!

Protective eyewear usually blocks out 99-100% of UVA and UVB light.

Health Conditions Related To Blindness

Vision is one of our most precious senses as it allows us to interact with the world around us, see color and beauty, and work towards making the world a better place. The ability to see keeps us healthy in multiple ways.

When we cannot see properly, it has an impact on how healthy we are as well as on the health of those around us. This article will examine blindness-related health conditions that can arise if one's eyes are compromised.

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that arises when diabetes causes damage to blood vessels in the retina of the eye, which impairs vision, among other things.

Vision impairment caused by this condition usually comes on gradually over time, so people don't notice it at first.

Treatment usually consists of medication or surgery to help improve vision.

If left untreated, blindness can result from this condition, creating an increased risk of falls and other accidents that could lead to injury, especially if the visually impaired or blind person is alone at home.

Glaucoma is a disorder that gradually leads to loss of sight because of damage done to the optic nerve.

Vision impairment caused by this condition may not manifest itself until it's too late.

Glaucoma damages the eye without any symptoms in the early stages, so regular eye exams are important for diagnosing this blindness-related health condition early on.

Perhaps the most effective way of protecting oneself against this condition is to avoid smoking and drinking caffeinated beverages.

Trachoma is a bacterial infection found in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Asia, and other parts that cause conjunctivitis (red eyes), among other things.

This blindness-related health condition can also lead to corneal opacities, especially in children who are not treated appropriately.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens of one's eye that leads to visual impairment.

In most cases, this blindness or vision impairment-related health condition can be treated via surgery by removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an artificial or natural substitute.

Cataracts occur naturally as we age, so many older people will have several surgeries done during their lifetime to keep their vision intact.

Everyone else needs to get regular exams so that this blindness-related health condition does not go undiagnosed until it's too late.

However, some risk factors make one more susceptible to getting a cataract, such as diabetes, smoking, and obesity, among others.

Vision loss or eyesight weakening is caused for multiple reasons.

Food For Better Eyesight

Eating carrots or other orange-colored vegetables increases the amount of beta carotene available to the retina's light-sensitive cells, which may slow macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older people or adults. The body converts beta carotene to vitamin A, needed for retinal function and helping in the prevention of dry eyes.

Foods high in zinc help maintain good vision in visually impaired people. Good sources of zinc include peanuts, almonds, and shellfish like oysters and lobsters.

Zinc is also found in meat, such as beef and lamb.

Water helps the eye function properly because it keeps the mucous membranes moist and the tear film flowing smoothly across the front of the eye. If you don't drink enough water, your eyes will feel dry and uncomfortable. To prevent dryness, drink at least eight glasses of water per day.

The natural approach to better eyesight instead focuses on the best foods without surgery or glasses rich in vitamins A, B, C, D3, E and minerals like zinc, magnesium, calcium, manganese, copper, chromium, and selenium. These provide the nutrients necessary to boost your eye health.

This can prevent or may even cure macular degeneration.

Taking a multivitamin daily to get the right amount of essential vitamins needed for good sight could also help.

In addition, when you eat foods high in Vitamin C, your body will produce more collagen, which helps keep your eyes healthy.

Eating various colorful fruits and vegetables can protect your vision because different colored foods have different nutrients.

It is important to maintain a diet rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are found primarily in dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, and broccoli, but also in sweet potatoes, carrots, or winter squash.

Total blindness or vision impairment can be prevented by consuming good food, having regular eye check-ups, wearing protective eyewear, and several other ways.